Thursday, October 31, 2013

At the end of this week I plan on attending an anime convention on Detroit called Youmacon.It will be held at the Detroit Ren Cen and Cobo Hotel with a lot of panels and plenty of guests.It'll be my first convention I won't see Vic Mignogna at, but this will give me the chance to focus on other guests.

I haven't always been into drawing, but I always loved art class. A few years ago I was really inspired by my friends to start drawing on my own time. They all had beautiful drawings of people and outfits that they had made up completely on their own and I really wanted to learn how to do that. So during history class I started doodling some characters from Avatar the Last Airbender, a cartoon that I was really into at the time. They were so bad I can't even tell you, everything was out of proportion and the only thing that even remotely looked good was the eyes which I had learned how to do by looking at a picture of one of the characters eyes. I didn't realize that looking at the picture really helped until later. My art teacher when I spent my year in Italy really helped me as well. Every week we had to do a drawing of something different, of course it was assigned but it was loose so you could still have options of what you wanted to draw. This really helped me with more than I can say.

The next year when I had gone to a new school I started copying pictures of characters that I liked from animated movies and cartoons. I enjoyed doing it and had gotten compliments on some of my drawings as well. During the year Art was my absolute favorite class of all time. It was one of the rare classes that had all of my friends and we did so many things in class that improved my techniques for my drawings. I don't think I would be nearly as good as I am now without my teacher's help. I would always go to him for advice on my drawings and he was always more than happy to help. I've learned so much from him I will never be able to thank him enough. :)

ALLEN WALKER IS THE MAIN PROTAGONIST AND A REFERENCE TO THE SERIES D.GRAY-MAN. ALLEN IS A FORMER EXORCIST AND A MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN BRANCH OF THE BLACK ORDER WHICH HE IS NOW SEEN AND CLASSIFIED BY THEM AS A NOAH. HE IS ALSO CURRENTLY THE CURRENT HOST OF THE FORMER NOAH, NEA WALKER. HE IS THE ADOPTIVE SON OF MANA WALKER, THE ELDER BROTHER OF NEA WALKER AND NEA IS ALLEN\'S ADOPTIVE UNCLE. ALLEN WAS ALSO THE FORMER APPRENTICE OF THE EXORCIST GENERAL, CROSS MARIAN. ALLEN HAS MOSTLY BEEN SEEN WITH TIMCANPY ON HIS SIDE.

I have not so recently gotten into this anime series called Fullmetal Alchemist. It is an amazing show about these two little boys who loose their mother to a disease and try to bring her back to life using alchemy. Which is the ultimate taboo for alchemists. "Alchemy is the art of deconstructing and reconstructing matter, in order to obtain something something of equal value must be lost. Therefore human transmutation is a taboo among all alchemists. For what could equal the value of a human soul." as said in the intro episode. Needless to say they failed and created this monster and in doing so the older brother Edward (Ed) lost his leg, and the younger brother Alphonse (Al) lost his entire body. In trying to bring his brother back Ed bonded Al's soul to a suit of armor costing him his arm. After this tragedy Ed gets automail for an arm and leg so he can walk again. His plan is to join the military in order to get restricted information in hopes of getting their original bodies back.

Now I feel like Al doesn't get enough credit in this show at points so I'm only going to do the tutorial on him. This is a picture of them before they lost their bodies. Here is the picture I drew.

Monday, October 28, 2013

I've tried to watch this show a few times, but never got past a few episodes.I think the idea of watching a long show like this was a bit daunting.But I had some time off recently and thus decided to try it again.I managed to watch the show on Netflix, reaching episode 52, thinking, wow how is this going to end so fast?Then I realized there was another season of 12 episodes that Netflix doesn't carry.I tried to watch on Hulu, but alas, I really hate Hulu (all the commercials) and I wasn't going to go the subtitle route (only subs available for last 12 eps) since I had already watched the 52 episodes on Netflix dubbed.I broke down and got a Funimation elite subscription just to finish the series.There are two main plots.Edward and Al try to bring back their mother from the dead using alchemy.Of course it's a big fail and Al loses his body and Ed loses an arm and leg in the process.Al's soul is trapped in suit of armor and Ed has to use prosthetic arm and leg.They join the military as state alchemists in order to find a philosopher's stone which may help the regain their bodies.In addition to Edward and Al looking to find the stone, there is also a compelling military and political storyline involving a decades-long plot for world domination.I really enjoyed watching this complex and complete story.The multiple characters, each of which has their own back story, are likable, even some of the bad guys. Edward, Al, Winry, Roy, Hawkeye, Alex, Olivier, and the evil crew of almost immortal homunculi were extremely well characterized.The action scenes were well animated.The alchemy battles were cool and sometimes even a bit horrifying (especially when Roy used his snap flame alchemy).I liked how the state alchemists had ethical dilemmas in regards to their roles in the Ishvallan war.The never-give-up attitude and bonds of friendship and family lay the moral foundation for this complete story.The end actually has an end, thanks to the fact that it's based on a completed manga.I also tried watching the first "Fullmetal Alchemist" but never finished that either.I have read that it is also good and deviates from the manga unlike "Brotherhood" so I will try to watch it again sometime.Thumbs up for the epic movie-ish background music and catchy opening and ending theme songs.In conclusion, it's a compelling, entertaining, emotional action anime that I wholeheartedly recommend.Will we ever see anything as ambitious and successful as this?I hope so.Full Post

Space Dandy, the anime from the same team that brought you Cowboy Bebop is going to start broadcast already dubbed in English starting in January on Toonami. That might be the fastest I've heard of anime being dubbed for an English audience, the show will be coming out on Japanese TV at the same time. No voice cast infohas been released yet, but no doubt Steve Blum is somehow on board. Funimation is the US distributor of the series.

Synopsis:Space Dandy is a dandy in space! This dreamy adventurer with a to-die-for pompadour travels across the galaxy in search of aliens no one has ever laid eyes on. Each new species he discovers earns him a hefty reward, but this dandy has to be quick on his feet because it's first come - first served! Accompanied by his sidekicks, a rundown robot named QT and Meow the cat-looking space alien, Dandy bravely explores unknown worlds inhabited by a variety aliens. Join the best dressed alien hunter in all of space and time as he embarks on an adventure that ends at the edge of the universe!*About "Space Dandy":Get ready to blast off with Space Dandy, a dazzling new anime from the entire creative team behind Cowboy Bebop! General Director: Shinichiro Watanabe ("Cowboy Bebop", and "Samurai Champloo"), Director: Shingo Natsume ("Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos"), Screenplay: Kimiko Ueno (Movie "Crayon Shin-chan"), Dai Sato ("Cowboy Bebop", "Eureka Seven"), Keiko Nobumoto ("Cowboy Bebop", "Wolf's Rain") and many others, Character Design: Yoshiyuki Ito ("Star Driver"), Spaceship Design: Thomas Romain (Satelight) ("Basquash!"), Theme Song: Yasuyuki Okamura. Animation Production: Bones Inc. ("Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood", "Soul Eater", "Eureka Seven AO").

Contemporary, the convention for Fullmetal Alchemist cosplay will celebrate in Birmingham as the astonishing news for enthusiasts and fans that are into it. ACTORS Vic Mignogna and Aaron Dismuke, best known for voicing Ed and Al Elric in hit anime Fullmetal Alchemist, have been announced as special guests at the MCM Birmingham Comic Con. The manga was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shnen Gangan magazine and was collected in 27 tankbon volumes, which was adapted into an animated television series of 51 plots by Bones, later followed by a film sequel that concluded the story of the anime. A collectible card game, multiple supplementary books, and a variety of action figures and other merchandise based on the characters of the series have also been released.

Aaron and Vic will be meeting fans at the MCM Birmingham Comic Con on the weekend of March 31 to April 1. Really can (tm)t wait to watch Fullmetal Alchemist Cosplay at the thrilling day, huh? The brand new Birmingham Comic Con will run alongside the long-established Memorabilia show at the NEC. Ticket holders for either event will have access to the other show free of charge.

Friday, October 25, 2013

So I've been wanting to watch this anime for a really long time. Ever since high school to be precise. All my friends and relatives-well one cousin-have been raving about how amazing it is and that I SHOULD DEFINITELY WATCH IT SDFHSDLKJHFSALKDJFHASLKDJHFSLKH. And so I did. I just finished it a while ago. And this anime cannot be described with just a single emotion.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood revolves around the lives of two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric and their experiences with alchemy. Thats if you want the sugar coated overly simplified version of it, because it doesn't just stop there. FMA is a complex web of events and themes that make it seem blashpemous (yes blasphemous) yet overwhelmingly amazing at the same time.

The weekend of September 14th I headed up to Ramapo for the the annual Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo NY! My college friends have been going for the past 4 years, and I was never able to go until the year I am out of school! So I left after work and spent the night in their dorm. It felt good to back among those friends, and the dorm life that I actually kind of miss! I had a great college experience full of fond memories and hilarious times we spent together. It was good to be back with them for a night and day spent at the faire!

It was my first Ren Faire, it was overwhelming and awesome! Next year I want to dress up!

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

I'm sure by now, most of you are familiar with this subsection of anime and manga. I know that shounen is a demographic which is aimed at boys, but over here in the United States it is often inadvertently identified as a genre for a large list of series which share similar characteristics. I tend to usually identify these series as Jump series since most of the titles people readily identify as shounen come from Jump, but in this article I'm going to have to broaden my explanation as their are other series such as Fairy Tail outside of that magazine that use the same formula. Typically, I would tend to define these series as being an action adventure series or a battle manga, but for the sake of this article, I'm going to be politically incorrect and classify these series as just "shounen" so everyone knows what I am talking about.

Now on to the content of this article.What is the future of shounen manga and anime? When most of us (at least in the United States) think of the classic anime that have withstood the test of time, most of them were in fact the battle shounens. When most people are asked what anime are considered "classics" or "must sees" many, if not all of these lists will include series such as: Dragon Ball, Hokuto no Ken, Saint Seiya,, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Rurouni Kenshin (I know that there are other technical shounen series such as Slam Dunk, but I'm focusing on the subsection like Dragon Ball that the American audience readily identifies as shounen).

So out of the blue I downloaded 6 albums of SCANDAL. I have no idea why I downloaded all considering I only knew them because of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Shunkan Sentimental) and Bleach (Shoujo S). I don't have anymore anime that I have watched that they are the one's who sang the theme song. My favorite song from them is titled, Namida no Regret (Tears of Regret). Interestingly enough the song is not from any anime, I actually just watched the music video on Animax and it instantly became my favorite. That song is said to be their first ballad song.

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Just recently, I have just start reading my first manga, ever, called Pokemon Adventures. You could call me strange since you're clearly reading a post about someone who just started reading a manga (especially one about pokemon), but this was a whole experience for me.

As implied, I've never read a manga before because of the fact that I wasn't interested into comic books or anything that closely resembles as such, and manga were considered as black and white Japanese comics from my point of view back then. However, all of that changed after I read a chapter of the first Pokemon Adventures manga book that I found in a nearby bookstore while shopping with my mother. I was completely astounded once I read the first few pages, I did not expect a manga, a pokemon manga no less, to be very good both by story and design. That had been one of the most interesting reads of my life and I couldn't believe it was a black and white Japanese comic book about an altered story of pokemon.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.

Thousands of people surround you. They are a mix of genders, races, ages, shapes and sizes. The one thing they have in common? They are all at San Diego Comic Con.

San Diego Comic Con - originally called San Diego's Golden State Comic-Con - was first held on August 1-3, 1970, at the US Grant Hotel, with only three special guests: Ray Bradbury, Jack Kirby, and A.E. van Vogt. 300 people attended that first comic book convention. Now Comic Con has 130,000 attendants not including staffers, celebrities and volunteers and is held at the San Diego Convention Center.

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.

1: Fullmetal Alchemist: It's actually hard to describe why I love this anime so much, as I haven't watched it in a few years. This is my favorite anime of all time because ofWell, just how perfect it is. It succeeds with flying colors at everything it attempts, which I can't say for it's more recent 'brother.' Whether it's expressing humor, drama, action, or all three at the same time, it never fails to impress me, no matter how many times I watch it. It takes place in a vast, epic, intricately-defined world,which is always a plus for me, and it definitely helps that we get a compelling and complex character to explore it with us. It's powerful, irresistible, and very well written/executed. I love it with all my heart.

2: Cardcaptor Sakura: This anime holds a special place in my heart, as it's the anime that got me into anime. Well, the cardcaptors dub did that, but I was too young to realize how shitty it was, and CCS is SO much better. It got me into fanfic writing, which, in turn, got me into writing in general. If I hadn't attached to it as hard, I probably wouldn't be in the middle of writing ascreenplay right now.

"IF YOU'RE ALWAYS TRYIN' TO GET TO THE TOP, YOU WON'T GET TO THE BOTTOM OF NOTHIN'."

It's been a long time since I've posted. I've been thinking a lot lately about things I'm currently interested in, and I just wanted to share them.

I've played a few different games since my last post. Er, my last real post. Gosh, that was right before I started Dragon Age: Origins. Since then, I've played Far Cry 3, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, L.A. Noire, Bioshock Infinite, and Diablo III. I like to get as many achievements as possible, otherwise this list would have been longer.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Hope you guys had an awesome holiday the past 1.5 months ^^/ For me my holiday just started this week (I only had to work 2 days!! Not to mention it was my last day yesterday. Gonna miss my workplace though it was tiring) The past week has been fine, nothing much just that I got to rest a lot and I started to watch animes again. Which brings me to the theme of today's post. Recommanded animes to watch~~

Honestly, I normally don't like animes. I feel that watching dramas are more worth my time. However that does not mean I never watch animes,I just don't really watch animes like naruto or inuyasha (too many episodes and ridiculous way of speaking jap..no offence)

When I watch an anime, I usually don't have anyone to talk to about it. Only a few of my friends watch anime, and they don't watch nearly as much as I do. While watching Attack on Titan over the past few months, I've had the unexpected pleasure of having someone else I know watch it as well. It's been exciting to be able to talk to someone about it, and I've bugged her about "getting caught up" so I can let my inner otaku out and gush about the twists in the story. However, she's not even close to being an "otaku", and so some of the things that are normal in anime strike her as odd. One of these things is the way anime seasons are set up. So, I've decided to lay it out plainly, both for her and anyone else that might be wondering...

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.

As if the series wasn't weird enough. They had to go and make a side story with actually a progressing plot. I noticed that on the internet people say it destroyed the series. While I do have my own complaints on this season, there are reasons why this anime is a great addition to the series.

And so the Summer wraps up, as does my Summer anime viewing. For those who weren't , I decided to start following airing anime in Japan by season, because that's a thing anime nerds do nowadays. I'll be starting up the Fall series soon here, but wrapping up the Summer comes first.

Monday, October 14, 2013

First allow me to say I hate the cover for this omnibus with a full on "cheesecake" portrait of "true form" Mina, it give off the impression of simply being a fan service heavy series, I realize this was one of the original covers of the three volumes. Which are contained in here and there is a heavy amount of nudity in the series but this just feels like a cheap marketing ploy. All that being said the three volumes inside further show what a rich morally gray universe, Nozomu Tamaki is able to create with his characters. From Akira shutting Mina out emotionally over past traumas, Mina's further bonding with Yuki (which I feel is some of the strongest character interaction in the series) to the introduction of Akira's and Angel's past the writing is quiet at times claustrophobic and has the tense masterful build up of the last half of Fullmetal Alchemist, in the final battle. While the battles and imagery are drawn in fast paced hyper detailed style with an emphasis on realism and fluid panel lay out that captures the sweat, blood, and breaking of bones to the crack of shot gun shells and the chaos of invasion. One of the few artistic sins of the series are the generic faces of the characters that all look the same except for hair or other distinguishing features like skin tone, this continues to be a series that makes for a thrilling action and relationship piece despite the often times fetishistic treatment of Mina in her true form and "child" form. Again that's a part that I had no real problem with because it made sense in the story even if I felt the element of almost tentacle rape was a bit much. Historical allusions to The Russian Revolution where a nice touch as well. This continues to be enthralling and the twists and turns left me breathless at the dizzying pace of action. While also showing the sometimes conflicted emotional lives of the characters in a way that was quiet understated and powerful. The relationship between Akira and his little brother Yuuhi, stands out showing the dark world of The Bund against the na ve innocence, of a child as Akira drives his little brother away for his "own good." Only finally to draw closer to his little brother and allow himself to feel after having to numb himself simply to function. While Mina is shown to be a queen I would proudly serve it's also tragic to see that even her simplest dreams lie unfulfilled due to, the machinations of the three clans and court intrigue. It's Mina's softer tender moments that made me like her even more as a character from stumbling over what to say to console Akira, trying to bolster a now mute Yuki's spirits or being reunited with the fangless children after the quarantine she was placed on due to the events of the last three volumes. Showing a leader with a heart full of love and concern but also an iron will to rule for the good of her people and defend them, these volumes are less Akira's story and more of Mina and her growth and trying to figure out life in it's complexities. These three volumes leave use with a amazing twist at the end that is subtle and insidious in it's implications, while also not feeling contrived.Full Post

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Last time, I took a trip down memory lane with a list of my five favorite shows that were on Toonami back when it was on Cartoon Network. Today, I'm going to do a list of my favorite shows from "new Toonami". Now, I have not missed a night of Toonami since it returned back in May 2012 (DVRs are an awesome invention), and I've made it a thing to watch the entire night. This was a tough list, as the number of great shows vastly outweighs the number of bad shows that have been on Toonami since 2012, but I got it down to five. Here's my top 5 new Toonami shows.

Friday, October 11, 2013

LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT SUKIYABASHI JIRO, A SUSHI RESTAURANT IN JAPAN. The cost of eating there is 30,000 Yen (that's about $300). Do you know what you can buy with 30,000 Yen? That's enough for a complete set of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga! You can get a deluxe Blue Ray anime series for that kind of dough! It's enough to fund an entire convention trip, hotel and all! Yet demand for this outrageously expensive sushi is so great, you'll have to get reservations a month in advance for the privilege of spending so much money on a single meal. How is such an establishment made? What type of man could forge such a thing? The answers to those questions are answered by film.

"JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI" IS A DOCUMENTARY THAT FOLLOWS THE LIFE AND PHILOSOPHY OF JIRO ONO, THE PROPRIETOR OF SUKIYABASHI JIRO. By many accounts, he is considered the greatest sushi chef (or skokunin) in the world. His is the first sushi restaurant ever to earn three stars from the Michelin Guide. As a reference, only thirty other restaurants in all of Japan have also earned three stars. This man has a level of skill that only over-powered manga characters could possess. Jiro Ono is the Goku of sushi chefs.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

This summer I continued on my journey into the world of anime seasons and built up a larger group of shows then my previous endeavors. In all I watched a total of seven shows, Watamote, Kinmoza, Silver Spoon, Stella Women's Academy High School Division C3 (which I will shorten as C3bu because that's a hell of a title), Servant x Service, Gatchaman Crowds, and Danganronpa: The Animation. There are some shows I passed on that ended up getting a lot of positive reception (The Eccentric Family, The World God Only Knows) but overall I think I chose pretty well, and will try my best to check out the shows I skipped some other time. But for now, I'm going to take a look at each show I watched and score the, though some may have more seasons on the way. Speaking of which, I did watch the second season of Attack On Titan but not much has changed quality-wise from last season, so I won't touch on it.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Welcome, My Friends, to horror anime month. For the next five weeks we'll be looking at things that go bump in the night. Experience suggests that most of them will not actually be scary in the slightest in spite of the genre label. In fact, I think the only truly frightening anime I've ever reviewed in October was Perfect Blue and everything else just used horror to mean "there are monsters." In any case, let's start the month off with Le Portrait de Petit Cosette which is a bit unique for an anime in that it's not based on anything. The three episode OVA was produced by Daume, the studio responsible for Onegai Teacher and Shiki. There is a manga, but it's based on the OVA instead of the other way around. Let's turn out all the lights and take a look.

Our story begins with our protagonist, Eiri, hanging out with some friends. But don't get attached to them because they'll only appear in one other, brief scene. They talk briefly about love and Eiri runs off for his part time job at his uncle's antique shop. He spends some time just holding and looking at a glass. A glass that seems to contain a girl that only he can see. The biggest problem with this OVA is that it meanders. What I mean by that is that there are a lot of scenes that go nowhere and don't tie into the main plot. Not only that, but the animation will frequently shift to random things (a street, a mailbox, tableware, bamboo, butterflies, etc ) during conversations. I still can't figure out whether this is supposed to be disconcerting or it's just a way to pad the OVA. If it's the former it doesn't work. The latter would seem more probable since this OVA drags. You wouldn't think I'd be able to say that about something that lasts all of three episodes, but it does. There are long stretches of scenes that just show random objects or filled with scene after scene where nothing of value happens. You could probably cut this down to a single episode if you only kept the relevant parts. Don't expect actual horror from this either. A lot of what happens is strange and/or kind of nonsensical but not frightening. There are some scenes that have promise, but the effect they could have had ends up getting spoiled by random object cuts and pointless scenes.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

This past year started out like any normal one for otaku worldwide.The spring calendar was full of colorful moe shows, a few comedies, a chunk of fan-service shows, and a couple of surprises.However, out of the few surprises, which included three mecha shows, no one saw this one coming. Written by Hajime Isayama and published by Kondansha (Kodansha Comics USA stateside), Attack on Titan (Called Shingeki no Kyojin in Japan), animated by Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)made its debut and did more than conquer Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook for a few days.Attack on Titan has managed to do the one thing that hasn't been done since the heyday of Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, and even Spirited Away: Make fans of anime, new and old, care again.

Hailed by many as "The Game of Thrones of Anime," Attack on Titan is a dark fantasy series focused on humanity's fight for survival against the indomitable gargantuan creatures, The Titans, which loom over the populace in their domed cities and rain down havoc and destruction at each turn. Eren Yaeger, a young man from the first city hit by the Titans, rises to oppose the creatures after watching his mother die at the hands of these monsters.Hell-bent on revenge, Eren, along with his adoptive sister, Mikasa, and their friend, Armin, join the military with a number of others to combat the beasts, using equipment and skills to perform action-packed feats that would make Spider-Man proud.Although it seems like a simple premise, there is more than meets the eye here (Yes, I went the Bay route).More twists than a pretzel and surprises abound in this series that is currently at 25 episodes. It's a mystery wrapped in thrilling action.Even the fans following the source material (the comic book) have been left guessing what happens next.

Our topic for this month is a new one for me: One True Pairing or OTP. I turned to Google to help me paraphrase something that may or may nor make this a little clearer for everyone:

Based off what fans call "shipping" (coming from the word "relationship"), one true pairing refers to the fictional pair off of two characters. It can be across genres and links characters from all aspects of the fictional world (books, TV, movies etc.) Some OTPs are made clear in the original fiction, some are merely implied, and some are just wished by the fans.

What is with you people ... slowly bent down and touched the kim rat zben been charred, burnt and jewelry, but like everything, it overlooked fingers. He could not touch anything that belonged to the existing world. Sometimes it would have given anything to be just a minute, but again feel in the wind, the rain on your skin, the soothing warmth of the sun, the flowers, the grass under his feet, the lilac scent, the taste of food, anything. There's nothing worse than get stuck half as immortal from the mortal world. In a thousand years ... What a stupid

Yo ~ So, yesterday early evening successfully Lake home at night a week, and after MondoCon, which has been appointed as Balace after, but ended up Shadn l pastor youcef nadarkhani Saturday night, so he is still afterezt nk a bit so far was eight and a half days, huh. Kicpztem myself at a level to make sure you still stay ~ Almost every day there was some x 'D [Grell - Ten of Hearts Card, Ravenclaw Helena, Nymphadora Tonks, Mujo] for a while Grellk nt bet madtam in Denmark [exits] Dora as you arguing with your relatives [ Regulus - exits, James - Nee-san], which in the end was that I gave to the scared pastor youcef nadarkhani little girl and instead fled into the arms of England-san [Shad], who promised to establish the equality of the wizarding world * * Helena in the early Lookout shoot I played it. , Mujonnal to Siofok in Japan was canceled exits the garden ~ f rjemmavanzs l st Gyah = = ~ Yeah, I was just Grell Con again, although I think about it no one was down xD Seg z and fall, you'll be ready for the regular stuff too ~ And I shopped for a handful of Kuros yet again. Hah. ~ Worship isrogatni when I tried, I'm alive! has finished pastor youcef nadarkhani the second chapter, the third toil, but for now I do not fill up because pastor youcef nadarkhani this week I want to write a novel competition extensively, and then I figure out what I think after I start but it really is the AU ficnek pastor youcef nadarkhani Oh yes, I finally put my "Thank you, you have kattintottatok four thousand people pastor youcef nadarkhani here," my pictures, so this extra heart to Yours:. D. Furthermore, and tossing around more images , I have a bunch of ~ Status Report, that's it, cheerio ~

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Lately I've been thinking about what it means to create and where the desire to create comes from. For me, creating is as necessary as sleep: I can go maybe a day without writing or drawing or making something, but more than that and I shrivel up inside. Why is this?

I think that humans are by nature creative, and that when we destroy something we are taking part in the work of the Devil. "The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." (John 10:10) Our ability to destroy is a result of the fall and of the corruption of sin; but our ability to create directly reflects the image of God in us. We create because God first created.(I strongly recommend reading Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories" to learn more about this theory. I am very much in Tolkien's sub-creator camp.) The very act of creating is inherently God-based, I think.This not to say that everything man creates is good; on the contrary.Sin corrupts all things, and even a good thing can be used for evil. But I think that the act of creating itself is divine, and that the creation of a work of art that glorifies God, whether a poem or a painting or a novel or a concerto, is a defense against the one who comes to steal and kill and destroy, because he will and he does.

I first stumbled upon the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist around a decade ago, and started following it. A short while after, the anime series was released, and I was hooked onto it. Till now, I still think it is one of the best anime and manga series I have ever come across.

I recently about another anime that I have been watching, Gin no Saji. It was only recently that I realised that it was by the same author as Fullmetal Alchemist, Hiromu Arakawa. And I was quite amazed - these two series were entirely different in terms of genre - one on fantasy, and the other on real life.

And it was only today that I realised that Hiromu Arakawa is a female! (Obviously I can't tell between male and female Japanese names) Interestingly, she was born and raised on a dairy farm, which explains how she was able to come out with Gin no Saji.